About Be Heard Boulder

A New Way to Engage with Your Local Government

Welcome to Be Heard Boulder, the City of Boulder's online engagement platform! Your community and government make better decisions when you have a voice in the process. Be Heard Boulder is part of a broader city effort to make it easier for the public to engage with their local government.

This online platform offers a variety of interactive tools, including discussion forums, polls, surveys and crowdsource mapping. Use Be Heard Boulder to contribute your ideas and ask questions about featured projects, at times that work best for you.

The City of Boulder will often use online feedback in conjunction with face-to-face consultation activities – such as meetings, open houses or surveys – to reach a more representative cross-section of our community. The city will pilot Be Heard Boulder through 2018, and the city will use community feedback, usage data and input from staff and council to help determine how best to use the platform after the pilot concludes.

To learn more, please explore the platform, visit the city's engagement webpage, and review the following question and answers:

Question: How do I submit my feedback?

Submit your feedback via the online discussion forums, quick polls, forms and surveys relevant to each of the projects currently open for consultation.

To participate for the first time, simply:

Sign up for Be Heard Boulder by clicking on the "Sign In" button in the top right of any page
Choose a username and password
Complete a few quite questions about you
You will receive an email to validate your email address
Return to the website and click the "Sign In" button

Note: Your comments will appear under your username, and you can comment anonymously through a username of your choice.

Question: Why is the City of Boulder engaging online?

Traditional public consultation usually involves attending public meeting or providing written submissions to council, and this can often be time consuming and inconvenient, and sometimes intimidating. However, Be Heard Boulder gives you the opportunity to have your say on issues that are important to you, at a time and place of your choice.

It is a quick, safe and convenient way to have your say on a range of issues and topics.
It is a great way to keep up to date and contribute your views on issues affecting your community.
You can see what other community members think about an issue or topic, respond with your own views and engage in a discussion.
You don't have to attend community meetings at a set place and time, you can contribute at a time and place that suits you.
It allows for a range of different people, with different views to discuss matters that impact on their community.

Question: Why do I need to register to this site to make a comment?

While registration is not required to access Be Heard Boulder, it is necessary for many of the more interactive engagement opportunities. We ask you to register to the website for a few reasons.

It helps ensure that a broader set of perspectives have an opportunity to be represented by attributing feedback and frequency of feedback to individuals.
It promotes accountability and encourages people to provide more thoughtful responses because feedback can be attributed to them.
It also means that we can let you know any news if something major changes about the consultation.

Question: Can I use this site anonymously?

Yes, you can use this website anonymously. Even when you register and post comments, your anonymity is protected because you are identified by your chosen screen name.

Questions: What happens to my feedback/comments?

All comments, ideas and suggestions are collated and used by the relevant project teams to inform the development of strategies, programs and activities, or to gain an insight into community views and opinions.

Often, feedback provided online is used in conjunction with other face-to-face consultation activities such as meetings, open houses or surveys.

When each consultation closes, all contributions are compiled into a report, which will be presented to council when considering the particular matter.

All feedback provided during consultation will be considered; however, this does not mean that every suggestion will affect the project or be adopted as proposed.

Note: All comments you make through this website will become public records for anyone to read.

Question: Is my privacy protected?

Yes! Your privacy is absolutely protected and the city will only use your email to contact you with updates and to invite you to participate in consultations.

Your email address will not be distributed to any third party or used for any other purpose. We do not ask for your personal details or require them at any time as part of your participation. For more information, see the platform Privacy Policy.

Who can I contact about Be Heard Boulder?

Be Heard Boulder is coordinated by City of Boulder's Communication Department and Engagement staff.

If you have any questions about content, or council's consultation and engagement process, please email beheardboulder@bouldercolorado.gov.

If you have a question regarding a specific project currently open for consultation, please contact the relevant project manager. Their contact details can be found in the "Who's listening" section for each project.

Question: How are discussion forums moderated?

All public comments within discussion forums, guest books and questions and answers are moderated 24 hours a day seven days a week, for inappropriate language, comments that disrespect other participants and for comments that are off topic. Spanish moderation is currently provided 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.

All moderation is carried out by Bang the Table and all moderation is independent to the City of Boulder. The moderators do not edit or alter any comments and will only remove comments deemed to be significantly off topic, offensive or malicious, in which case they are removed from the site immediately and the person who posted the comment is advised by email. See the moderation policy for more details.